scholarly journals Vital signs monitoring on general wards: clinical staff perceptions of current practices and the planned introduction of continuous monitoring technology

2016 ◽  
Vol 28 (4) ◽  
pp. 515-521 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mirela Prgomet ◽  
Magnolia Cardona-Morrell ◽  
Margaret Nicholson ◽  
Rebecca Lake ◽  
Janet Long ◽  
...  
2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Candice Downey ◽  
Rebecca Randell ◽  
Julia Brown ◽  
David G Jayne

BACKGROUND Vital signs monitoring is a universal tool for the detection of postoperative complications; however, unwell patients can be missed between traditional observation rounds. New remote monitoring technologies promise to convey the benefits of continuous monitoring to patients in general wards. OBJECTIVE The aim of this pilot study was to evaluate whether continuous remote vital signs monitoring is a practical and acceptable way of monitoring surgical patients and to optimize the delivery of a definitive trial. METHODS We performed a prospective, cluster-randomized, parallel-group, unblinded, controlled pilot study. Patients admitted to 2 surgical wards at a large tertiary hospital received either continuous and intermittent vital signs monitoring or intermittent monitoring alone using an early warning score system. Continuous monitoring was provided by a wireless patch, worn on the patient’s chest, with data transmitted wirelessly every 2 minutes to a central monitoring station or a mobile device carried by the patient’s nurse. The primary outcome measure was time to administration of antibiotics in sepsis. The secondary outcome measures included the length of hospital stay, 30-day readmission rate, mortality, and patient acceptability. RESULTS Overall, 226 patients were randomized between January and June 2017. Of 226 patients, 140 were randomized to continuous remote monitoring and 86 to intermittent monitoring alone. On average, patients receiving continuous monitoring were administered antibiotics faster after evidence of sepsis (626 minutes, n=22, 95% CI 431.7-820.3 minutes vs 1012.8 minutes, n=12, 95% CI 425.0-1600.6 minutes), had a shorter average length of hospital stay (13.3 days, 95% CI 11.3-15.3 days vs 14.6 days, 95% CI 11.5-17.7 days), and were less likely to require readmission within 30 days of discharge (11.4%, 95% CI 6.16-16.7 vs 20.9%, 95% CI 12.3-29.5). Wide CIs suggest these differences are not statistically significant. Patients found the monitoring device to be acceptable in terms of comfort and perceived an enhanced sense of safety, despite 24% discontinuing the intervention early. CONCLUSIONS Remote continuous vital signs monitoring on surgical wards is practical and acceptable to patients. Large, well-controlled studies in high-risk populations are required to determine whether the observed trends translate into a significant benefit for continuous over intermittent monitoring. CLINICALTRIAL International Standard Randomised Controlled Trial Number ISRCTN60999823; http://www.isrctn.com /ISRCTN60999823 (Archived by WebCite at http://www.webcitation.org/73ikP6OQz)


2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrew W. Kirkpatrick ◽  
Jessica L. McKee ◽  
John M. Conly

AbstractCOVID-19 has impacted human life globally and threatens to overwhelm health-care resources. Infection rates are rapidly rising almost everywhere, and new approaches are required to both prevent transmission, but to also monitor and rescue infected and at-risk patients from severe complications. Point-of-care lung ultrasound has received intense attention as a cost-effective technology that can aid early diagnosis, triage, and longitudinal follow-up of lung health. Detecting pleural abnormalities in previously healthy lungs reveal the beginning of lung inflammation eventually requiring mechanical ventilation with sensitivities superior to chest radiographs or oxygen saturation monitoring. Using a paradigm first developed for space-medicine known as Remotely Telementored Self-Performed Ultrasound (RTSPUS), motivated patients with portable smartphone support ultrasound probes can be guided completely remotely by a remote lung imaging expert to longitudinally follow the health of their own lungs. Ultrasound probes can be couriered or even delivered by drone and can be easily sterilized or dedicated to one or a commonly exposed cohort of individuals. Using medical outreach supported by remote vital signs monitoring and lung ultrasound health surveillance would allow clinicians to follow and virtually lay hands upon many at-risk paucisymptomatic patients. Our initial experiences with such patients are presented, and we believe present a paradigm for an evolution in rich home-monitoring of the many patients expected to become infected and who threaten to overwhelm resources if they must all be assessed in person by at-risk care providers.


2021 ◽  
Vol 20 (2) ◽  
pp. 58-62
Author(s):  
Melanie Baldinger ◽  
Axel Heinrich ◽  
Tim Adams ◽  
Eimo Martens ◽  
Michael Dommasch ◽  
...  

2021 ◽  
pp. 004051752110362
Author(s):  
Ka-Po Lee ◽  
Joanne Yip ◽  
Kit-Lun Yick ◽  
Chao Lu ◽  
Chris K Lo

Receptivity towards textile-based fiber optic sensors that are used to monitor physical health is increasing as they have good flexibility, are light in weight, provide wear comfort, have electromagnetic immunity, and are electrically safe. Their superior performance has facilitated their use for obtaining close to body measurements. However, there are many related studies in the literature, so it is challenging to identify the knowledge structure and research trends. Therefore, this article aims to provide an objective and systematic literature review on textile-based fiber optic sensors that are used for monitoring health issues and to analyze their trends through a citation network analysis. A full-text search of journal articles was conducted in the Web of Science Core Collection, and a total of 625 studies was found, with 47 that were used as the sample. Also, CitNetExplorer was used for analyzing the research domains and trends. Three research domains were identified, among them, “Flexible sensors for vital signs monitoring” is the largest research cluster, and most of the articles in this cluster focus on respiratory monitoring. Therefore, this area of study should probably be on the academic radar. The collection of data on textile-based fiber optic sensors is invaluable for evaluating degree of rehabilitation, detecting diseases, preventing accidents, as well as gauging the performance and training successfulness of athletes.


2014 ◽  
Vol 80 (3) ◽  
pp. 218
Author(s):  
N. Lo ◽  
A. Navlekar ◽  
E. Palmgren ◽  
R. Rekhi ◽  
F. Ussher ◽  
...  

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